Shock and grief as mourners gather to remember 16-year-old homicide victim in Halifax - Action News
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Nova Scotia

Shock and grief as mourners gather to remember 16-year-old homicide victim in Halifax

The Muslim community in Halifax is expressing outrage and sadness over the loss of a teenage boy killed earlier this week in what police have ruled a homicide.

A wake and funeral prayer were held Wednesday at a Halifax mosque for Ahmad Al Marrach

Community remembers 16-year-old victim of homicide near Halifax mall

5 months ago
Duration 1:59
The Kearney Lake Mosque was packed with mourners Wednesday afternoon for a wake and funeral prayer for Ahmad Al Marrach, 16, who was the victim of a homicide earlier this week. As the CBC's Taryn Grant reports, the teenager came to Canada from Syria eight years ago.

Young mourners at a Halifax-area mosque were invited Wednesday to gather around the casket of Ahmad Al Marrach, a 16-year-old killed this week in what police have ruled a homicide.

Those who packed the Kearney Lake Masjid listened asImam Hamzah Mangera spoke of a high school student who had started to see positive change after struggling to settle into Canada as a Syrian refugee eight years ago.

The imam asked youth taking part in the wake and funeral prayer to reflect on Al Marrach's death, the fragility of life and the kind of impact they hoped to make in the world.

"I just thought that the youth should think about that," Mangera said in an interview. "Just a moment of reflection. We haven't had these [types] of funerals much."

He said many youth are struggling to make sense of their peer's killing, and he urged them to remain calm and not resort to vigilante justice.

A boy wearing a black puffy jacket smiles into the camera.
Ahmad Al Marrach came with his family to Canada from Syria as refugees eight years ago. He was a student at Citadel High School. (Al Marrach family image)

Al Marrachwas found injured in a parking lot next to the Halifax Shopping Centre just before 5 p.m. Monday. Police said the teen wastakento hospital, where he died.

alifax Regional Police said Tuesday they have released thetwo youths who were arrestedon a Halifax Transit bus shortly after Al Marrach was found injured.

a man speaks to microphones inside a mosque
Imam Hamzah Mangera spoke of a high school student who had started to see positive change after struggling to settle into Canada as a Syrian refugee eight years ago. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

No charges have been laid in the case and police have said the investigation is ongoing.

Police have not said how Al Marrach died. However, Rana Zaman, a local activist who met with Al Marrach's family following his death, saidthe teenager was stabbed.

Theact of violence, she said, is evidence "that we, as a society, are failing our children."

a woman wearing a hijab speaks into two microphones outside of a mosque
Police have not said how Al Marrach died. However, Rana Zaman, a local activist who met with Al Marrach's family following his death, said the teenager was stabbed. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

"The feedback I'm getting from other moms, messages are being sent, other children are saying, 'We feel unsafe, we're going to carry knives, too. We need to protect ourselves,'" she said.

Zamanalsosaid the family was disheartened when police released the two youths without laying charges.

"They [the family]did not come here to cause problems. They came here seeking refuge."

Event for youth to grieve

Ummah Masjid and Community Centre was expected tohost an event Wednesday evening to help youth process the death.

"As youngsters, they go according to what social media is saying," Mangera said. "We're just requesting them to not pass on any wrong information because wrong information can lead to wrong actions as well."

Hanaa Rashid, director of social services at the centre, said the death of the boy who attended the mosque for prayer has been overwhelming.

Women wearing headscarves pray at a mosque
The Kearney Lake Mosque was packed with mourners Wednesday afternoon who came to pay their respects to Ahmad Al Marrach. The 16-year-old boy was the victim of a homicide Monday in Halifax. (Taryn Grant/CBC)

She described him as atypical teenager who liked to hang out with friends and ride his scooter.

"I'm grieving. There's a lot of grief. A lot of shock. It's something we never expected, and of course it's overwhelming," Rashid said.